The Royal Fire Academy for Girls
by pretty-good-liar
Summary: The series of events that leads to Azula's friendship with Ty Lee and Mai and the adventures the three face in school; based on a 30 day writing challenge, so hopefully there will be 30 chapters
1. Beginning

**A/N: This story is based on the Royal Fire Academy for Girls when Azula first meets Ty Lee and Mai, and just follows their adventures. The characters are not mine (except for any OCs that might come up, but still, the ideas they're based on come from the show Avatar: The Last Airbender). I had the idea of writing about when they first met because of a prompt word 'beginning.'**

* * *

**Beginning:**

"In this classroom there will be no distinction or rank between you, nor will any students be treated with any special formalities. You are all equals here, and I alone am your superior." The woman's stern gaze swept hawk-like around the room of small, petrified children. Her pause offered the girls a single moment to defy her, if they dared. "Is that clear?"

Azula narrowed her eyes at the female teacher, taking to her feet. Some of the girls gasped, triggering her smirk. One girl, whose long brown hair was braided down her back, watched her in awe. Azula had noticed the girl earlier. She appeared to be one of seven identical sisters; six of them had clotted together in the back of the room. This girl, however, had not. Already distinguished by her intricate braid, she also wore a pink sash around the waist of her crimson Royal Fire Academy uniform. Azula saw it as a cry for help, though she was sure the girl intended it as some sort of battle-cry against her siblings. She hadn't yet decided whether the gesture was laughably pathetic…or whether it was brave.

"Young lady, sit _down_." The woman emphasized the final word in a tone Azula was used to her mother taking with her, but there was no glimmer of fear in her eyes.

Azula smiled to herself. The large portrait on the back wall, depicting a much younger, far more powerful Fire Lord Azulon than she currently acknowledged as her grandfather might have been enough, but Azula knew that the brittle woman before her had spent years with her crooked nose bent over the history books, and it would only take her a moment to recognize a member of the Royal Family. Azula possessed all the necessary traits – glinting golden eyes, ink black hair tied in a perfect topknot, and, most notably, the attitude of a person born into power. Her father had made certain that she understood her divine right to rule; power was hers, if she had the strength to reach out and seize it. She comprehended him more clearly than he knew; her father wanted the throne, and would go to any lengths to get it. Royalty was _so_ predictable.

"You may _think_ you have special privileges here, Azula, but while in this classroom you remain both my pupil and my inferior. Is that _clear_?"

Azula's smile tightened as she watched the woman brace herself for some sort of impact. The old woman's whole body coiled in anticipation. The class held its breath, and eyes shot from the teacher's hardened expression to Azula's feisty smirk the moment her name was mentioned. If anyone had doubted who the girl was when she'd arrived– escorted by two palace guards – there was not a doubt in anyone's mind anymore. The atmosphere was electrically tense.

"I'm afraid it isn't clear to _me_," Azula said, running a hand across her short black bangs. The teacher looked too stunned to respond; she had never encountered a student with the guts to defy her before, it appeared. Azula's hand dropped to her side, and she smirked. Brittle bones were easily broken. "I am Azula of the Fire Nation, daughter of Prince Ozai and Ursa, and granddaughter of Fire Lord Azulon. I command your respect." She could feel the gold in her eyes solidify as she glared at the teacher, waiting to see if she would bend. The entire class seemed to hold its breath.

The teacher's eyes narrowed. "To the Headmistress' office. _Now_." She pointed at the door, and the whole class gasped.

Azula's eyebrows pulled together. She didn't understand – why wasn't this woman listening to her? She didn't even bow her head. She looked unmistakably frightened, however stern her expression, but she _didn't_ _listen_. By all accounts it didn't make sense.

Azula, puzzled exceedingly by the teacher's defiance, was easily sent out of the room to the rousing chorus of the Fire Nation anthem. The mantra followed her out the door, and she heard it in her head. _My life, I give to my country. With my hands I fight for Fire Lord Azulon and our forefathers before him. With my mind, I seek ways to better my country, and with my feet, may our March of Civilization continue._

Azula's eyes darted suspiciously down the pristine halls of the academy. She had toured the school with her mother the previous week, in order to drop off all her things in her room. She still didn't know who she was sharing the room with. There hadn't been time to find out; her mother had been anxious to make sure Zuko was ready for his year at school, even though he'd been going to school for two years longer than Azula already. Her mother was _always_ making more time for Zuko. Of course, Azula got dad. For her fifth birthday, Ozai had hired her a special firebending master to train with. All Zuko got from mom were stupid turtleducks to fill up the pond.

It grew suddenly chilly, and Azula drew her arms across her chest. She glared contemptuously at Azulon's black-haired portrait draped all over the school's walls; he didn't even look like that anymore. He was a wrinkled up old man, like a withered piece of parchment slowly dissolving into dust. The flames of his throne room were practically melting the skin off his bones.

Those thoughts eventually led her to the large wooden door of the Headmistress; she'd gotten a little lost on the way. Azula pulled open the door without hesitation, every possible scenario and every possible response accounted for already in her head. She took a seat in the chair across the woman's desk, studying the Headmistress closely. She was an older woman, but her hair still contained traces of black. Her hands were wrinkled, and she continued addressing the papers on her desk even when Azula took her seat.

"Ms. Kin sent me," Azula said, trying not to roll her eyes.

"Believe me, I know," the Headmistress replied. "Your little stunt has spread like a wildfire among the teachers."

The Headmistress didn't glance up from the papers on her desk, so she didn't see what student she was preparing to reprimand. She delivered her speech with admirable indifference; it was obviously well rehearsed, and Azula saw that it would do little good to attempt interrupting the flow of the conversation, which stayed relatively one-sided

"Your first day of school and you are already stirring up trouble. Do I need to remind you the cost your parents have paid to allow you the finest privilege of learning at such a prestigious institution? The teachers here are the best in the Nation, so I can't help but wonder why have you taken it upon yourself to verbally _attack_ Ms. Kin, who, I might add, has been teaching her course here longer than you have been alive? Surely you do not esteem yourself above the advice and wisdom you receive from your teachers and your mentors, the respectable men and women who make their living building you a solid foundation upon which your future rests? I can assure you that the education you will receive at this school is the _single-most_ important tool you will _ever_ have the privilege of possessing, but if you cannot respect my teachers, then I am afraid I will have no choice but to send for your parents and have you _immediately_ removed from the premises. I will not have a student damaging and disrupting the disciplined learning environment this academy seeks to preserve by acting like a stuck-up spoiled _brat_ to my educators."

Azula flinched. The rigid, backhanded insult to her pride cut deeply. Usually only her mother could make her feel so useless and hurt. But this advice Azula could take to heart. Here she would be learning from the best the Fire Nation had to offer; the masters deserved her reverence and respect. It would be here that she would have the chance to sharpen her already astute mind into a lethal weapon.

She stared down at her clasped hands for a moment, struggling to wipe the smirk off her face. She was about to get some practice; manipulation was a game she'd played from a young age, but she'd never tried this on someone she didn't know well. She plucked up the tone she used with her mother when she was trying to unglue Zuko from Ursa's side so he would play a game with her. "I didn't _mean_ to cause any trouble for Ms. Kin. It's just that Grandfather – oh, I mean Fire Lord Azulon – always said that – "

Azula didn't have to say another word before the Headmistress halted her, finally glancing up from the papers stacked on her desk; all the color seemed to drain from her features. Azula struggled not to raise an eyebrow. So even that pretty speech, furnished with insults and threats, became dust when it was the Royal Family. Her father was right, then. Power came second to nothing.

Panic, pure panic, infiltrated the haughty tone of the Headmistress. "Azula, I didn't realize…"

Azula slowly let a smile slip across her features. She raised a hand to stop the Headmistress from squabbling on. "It is perfectly alright, Headmistress. I deserved every word of censure from you. I should have showed Ms. Kin my respect in class, and not have talked out of turn. I promise, it won't happen again."

She beamed at the old woman, but inside wrangled with her emotions. Surely there was a lesson in this somewhere. She rolled her eyes; obviously it was all _too _easy to get out of trouble. But that wasn't what Azula was searching for. She supposed it could be true what the teacher had said to her _before_ realizing just who it was she was reprimanding. If she respected and took her teachers' wisdom, perfected every technique and skill, surely she would be able to stand proudly at her father's side. That kind of drive would show _everyone_ that she was best, once and for all. Even her mother.

"Of course. You can head back to class now," the Headmistress told her, recovering control of her voice. "I believe you have music."

Azula frowned. Had she really missed an entire history lesson over this? Standing up and forcing herself to bow to the Headmistress, she wondered if she had not learned some more important lesson about the balance between power and respect for one's teachers.

She rubbed her temple and stumbled around the school until she found her class in the music room. Many girls were still picking out instruments, so she was able to slip into the room unnoticed.

"That was really brave of you to stand up to Ms. Kin like that," said a peppy voice from behind her. Azula spun around only to end up face to face with the girl wearing the pink sash around her waist, and the six identical sisters, all of whom were squabbling over instruments with the rest of the class. The girl blushed. "I've never seen anyone stand up to a teacher before. You _really_ scared her." The girl was smiling and bubbly.

"I suppose I did," Azula said, allowing herself to smile too.

"I think it's _wonderful_ that I'm in the same class as Fire Nation royalty." Azula squinted suspiciously at the girl, but there was no sign that she was being insincere. "I'm Ty Lee. Not to be confused with my other sisters." She looked glumly in the direction of her clones.

"I can't wait to learn some new songs," Ty Lee continued, a new bounce in her step as Azula followed her to a place to sit. "I _love_ music."

The music teacher quickly tamed the class, and Azula fell in with the other students; there was no possibility of her finding a way to ruin music class with her lips puckered around some instrument…but her new friend did. Ty Lee's feet wouldn't stop tapping, and when the teacher finally stopped the class so everyone could stare at her, all she could do was blush and say, "Sorry, I don't know what came over me." Even after several stern reprimands, Ty continued smiling, and her feet continued tapping, though she was significantly quieter after the teacher threatened to send her out of the room.

By early morning break, Azula refused to be separated from Ty. The girl was an endless faucet of praise, and she followed Azula willingly outside and smiled at the sky.

"It's so nice out today," Ty said, abruptly falling backwards and holding herself up like a bridge on her hands and feet; her stomach arched towards the sky. Azula glanced quizzically at the girl. Only a second later she'd performed a perfect handstand, and then ended up back on her feet.

"Impressive," Azula said, secretly annoyed that she had barely mastered the cartwheel while Ty Lee had clearly moved on to more advanced acrobatics. Obviously any fighting moves came easily to Azula, but she didn't understand what Ty Lee was doing.

"You really think so? I can teach you if you want," Ty said, beaming. "And then we can practice together."

Azula's eyes narrowed. "You don't want to practice with your sisters?" Her eyes flicked to Ty's expression. She looked hurt, and stared at the ground.

"That's okay. They won't notice I'm gone." Her voice perked up as she caught sight of red monkey bars. "This is perfect!" Without missing a beat she'd vaulted to the top and landed, perfectly balanced. She grinned at Azula, who was still on the ground.

Azula smiled. Now it was her turn to show off. She blasted off from the ground, feeling her arms tingle as hot bursts of flames rocketed her into the sky. She launched herself in the air, did a single flip, and landed next to Ty Lee, who stared at her in awe.

"That was amazing! It is _so_ cool that you can bend. You were like _flying_!"

It felt _good_ to get such uncensored praise, and seeing Ty Lee smile at her gave Azula a feeling of warmth inside that only the power of firebending could match. "I made that move up myself," she told her friend, who waited with eager anticipation for each syllable that poured from Azula's mouth.

"Whoa. I've made up something too." Azula glanced away from Ty Lee's enthusiastic expression, barely able to keep from appearing bored. Azula had already mastered the art of non-bending styles of fighting; there was nothing Ty Lee could show her that could possibly interest her.

"I figured out a way to take people's bending away."

Azula's eyes shot up, and she felt her body tense defensively. _Take away someone's bending?_ The thought was chilling.

Ty Lee smiled. "Only temporarily of course," she added.

The initial fear wore off, and Azula grinned. "Show me," she said, already jumping off the play set. She didn't doubt Ty Lee's earnestness, but the small slender girl didn't look like a conduit of such a remarkable, totally unimagined power.

Ty Lee dropped down between two bars and swung to Azula's side. "Somewhere no one else will see," Azula whispered, glancing suspiciously at the faces of the surrounding uniformed girls.

"This way," Ty said, pulling Azula's sleeve and dragging the girl behind her towards the outer wall of school. The wall, made of dark stone, sealed off the schoolyard from the rest of the world, but the sound of waves crashing against the cliffs could still be heard from outside. Ty Lee pulled Azula into the outdoor lunch area, concealed by a path of hedges.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, bending and stretching as she waited for Azula to answer.

"Absolutely certain," she replied. She narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

Ty Lee shrugged, assuming what seemed to be one of her favorite positions by arching over backwards until she stood on her hands and feet. "Some people think it's…weird." She tumbled into a sitting position and bit her lower lip.

Azula put her hand on Ty's shoulder, and the girl gazed up at her with renewed encouragement. "They're just intimidated by you," she said, pulling the acrobat to her feet.

"By _me_?" Ty Lee laughed, but Azula could see that the idea appealed to her. "No one even notices _me_."

Azula sighed, trying to refocus the girl's attention. "Come on Ty Lee, I thought you were going to show me, so are you going to or not?"

"Okay, stand there. This might hurt a little…"

"Just do it, Ty," Azula said, folding her arms across her chest.

Before Azula could utter another syllable, Ty Lee had delivered a series of swift jabs at her arms and chest. All the breath was stolen from Azula's lungs, and her whole body seemed to lock up. A tingling, chilling sensation tore through her limbs, right to the center of her chest, and the ability to move became nonexistent. Azula gasped, about to fall and hit the ground, until Ty Lee caught her and rested her against the wall.

"Oops, I didn't mean to paralyze you like that…I'm still trying to get the hang of this," Ty mumbled.

When Azula had finally regained control of her movements, she still felt desperately cold; her arms were frigid, and she immediately tried to bend – tried anything. Nothing. Azula took a deep breath, reminding herself that Ty Lee had promised it would wear off eventually. But the cold inside her didn't go away; there was a terrifying emptiness in her chest, and an ice cold hand gripped her heart.

"It's like part of me is _missing_," she whispered, touching a hand to her chest. Powerless wouldn't be the right word – Azula had confidence in her non-bending abilities – but vulnerable certainly covered how she felt.

"Are you okay? I told you…"

"I'm perfectly fine," she said to Ty Lee, taking deliberate precautions to not sound breathless. She refused to admit how amazed she was by the acrobat's talent, but it was truly extraordinary. That kind of ability was invaluable. "C'mon, let's go practice cartwheeling," she said in an effort to distract herself from the loss of her bending. A bird chirped nearby, and Azula pointed two fingers at it, trying to summon the energy to firebend…but the bird chirped, unharmed. Not even a spark. It was almost as pathetic an attempt to firebend as Zuko.

"Zula, what are you doing?"

She shrugged. "I can't bend anyway. C'mon, Ty Lee, let's get out of here."

They worked their way back to the main yard just as the bell for class resounded. Azula frowned, slowing her pace. She wasn't in the mood for going back to class, but she couldn't afford to get in trouble for skipping the first day.

As it turned out, Azula could have slept through all her classes, and it would have done her about as much good as paying attention. She knew all the proper etiquette, and since day one was for going over the basics, she had it all covered; her father made sure she knew those simple little things. The final class of the day – some sort of gym class – was the highlight. Her talent was rivaled by no one when it came to practicing firebending techniques, and the teacher called her an outright prodigy. That was the only class she had separate from Ty; non-benders had no need to learn firebending techniques.

When the day finally ended, Azula met back with Ty, whose face was a flushed, healthy pink color almost identical to the color of her sash.

"I'm going to my room," Azula announced to her friend.

"You don't want to go outside? It's such a nice day!"

"I want to find out who I'll be sharing the room with."

"You don't _know_ who's bunking with you?" Ty Lee gasped.

Azula raised an eyebrow. "My mother was in a rush when we visited this summer. There wasn't time to fiddle around with such trivial things." Though she spoke like it didn't bother her, Azula actually despised being denied her request to know the name of her roommate. She'd never had to share a room before…

"She probably had all kinds of important things to do," Ty Lee said, totally oblivious to Azula's train of thought.

"Well, let's see who it is," Azula said, opening the red door to her room. She paused in the doorway; it was pitch black inside. Someone had closed the curtains over the window.

"Is your room _always_ this dark?" Ty Lee asked, poking her head into the room. "That can't be good for your eyes."

Azula reached over the dressing table and yanked open the blinds before turning around. The room contained two beds and a chest of drawers at the foot of each of them; on one bed Azula's trunk of luxuries rested, but lying on the second bed, twirling a knife between her fingers, was a pale, black-haired girl. She didn't sit up, even when the two girls entered.

"Please tell me you're here to kill me," she said, admiring the dagger in a faintly morbid way.

"Should we take that knife away from her?" Ty Lee whispered, appearing genuinely concerned.

Suddenly the knife flew through the air, pinning Ty Lee's pink sash to the wooden wall. "_Someone_'s perky," the girl said.

Ty Lee looked mortified by the abrupt attack of the pale girl. "You could have hit me," she grumbled while she struggled to remove the dagger from her clothing.

"If only I'd been so lucky," the girl responded in a disinterested tone.

"You must be my roommate," Azula said, making a mental sketch of the girl. Her black hair she kept in two small buns atop her head, and she looked uncomfortable in the school uniform. There were a series of notches in the wall directly opposite her bed, and a few knives, identical to the one now pinning down Ty Lee, stuck out like darts from the wood.

"Oh joy." The girl plucked her dagger from Ty Lee's fingers and returned to her bed to sit down.

"Aren't you going to tell us your name?" Azula demanded.

"If you insist."

Azula's tone was dark. "I do."

The girl didn't flinch. "Mai."

"Like the month," Ty Lee chimed. Azula turned around, realizing that her acrobatic friend was sitting on top of the dressing table in front of the window, her legs dangling over the front.

"Aren't you going to ask who _we_ are?" Azula asked.

Mai shrugged. "I don't really care."

"Is that so?" Azula whispered to herself. "I am Azula, and the person you just attacked is my friend, Ty Lee."

Mai didn't react to either name.

"You know, sitting inside all day can't be good for the complexion," Ty Lee said. "I know! They're holding volleyball tryouts tomorrow! We should all try out together!"

"I would sooner join the circus," said Mai. Azula smirked.

"Ty Lee, help me unpack," she said, going to her bed and opening the trunk. The acrobat hopped off the table and pulled out some of Azula's clothes from the trunk. Azula, meanwhile, pulled out the family portrait she'd stashed in her belongings. She'd taken it from her family's beach house when they'd stayed there over the summer. Angry with herself for giving into weakness by bringing it, she angled the portrait so it faced Mai's bed.

"If you two are done making all that noise, I have work to do." Mai motioned to her books, sitting on top of the drawer at the end of her bed.

"They give out homework on the first day?" Ty asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Next year they do," Mai said, cutting off abruptly, as if angry that she'd spoken to the acrobat at all, let alone acknowledged her existence.

"Why don't you show me to your room, Ty?"

"That's a great idea, why didn't I think of that?" In her excitement, her braid whipped around her head, almost catching Azula in the face. "See you later Mai!"

"I'll try not to hold my breath."

"Maybe later we can do each other's hair," Ty Lee began musing as Azula pushed her out of the room.

Azula followed Ty Lee down the hall of dormitories; her room had a black door, and she opened it up. "My room," she said, motioning inside.

Azula glanced at the room, seeing double. The room was nice, an exact duplicate of her own, but that's not where the doubles stopped. The two trunks at the back of the room both looked identical, and the clothes spilling over the top were all the same outfits.

"You're sharing a room with one of your sisters?" Azula speculated, taking a seat on one of the beds.

Ty Lee pouted. "Just like home," she said. "I thought that was going to change when I got here. Guess not."

Azula glanced at her friend; the smile had disappeared, and her eyes were glistening. "What was that you said about doing each other's hair?" she asked quickly. Some part of her rejected the thought of seeing Ty Lee cry; she seemed to have said the magic words, because Ty Lee's smile reappeared.

Azula resigned herself to sitting on the edge of the bed, wondering if keeping the girl happy was really worth letting her touch her hair. Azula _never_ let anyone touch her hair, except the servants, and herself of course.

Her fears were put quickly to rest as she felt Ty's fingers combing out her hair. "Your hair is _really_ pretty," Ty said as she worked.

Azula smiled. She'd rarely taken compliments, and even Ty Lee for most of the day had only been commenting on how well she could firebend, or the fact that she was royalty. Appearances had not been touched on.

There was a short pause.

"Zula?"

Azula kept her eyes closed, the sensation of Ty's small dexterous fingers combing through her hair stimulating a sense of pleasure. "Yes?"

"Are we going to be friends forever?"

The corner of Azula's mouth twisted into a smile. "Of course. Forever."

She could tell that this friendship was going to be the beginning of something wonderful.

* * *

**A/N: The Fire Nation oath in the beginning was taken from the Avatar Wiki pages, except I changed the name from Ozai to Azulon for obvious reasons. While on the website some people commented about the possibility of Zuko being at some sort of Fire Nation Academy, too, and I thought that would be a cool idea, so there are mentions of that in here, too. I also thought it would be kind of cool to have references to actual future episodes in there (such as Mai's line "Please tell me you're here to kill me" etc.). Hope you enjoy the story, so please read and review!**


	2. Accusation

**A/N: So I forgot to mention, Mai throwing daggers at the wall in a dark room is actually an idea right out of the creators' mouths; I read some interview where they said they imagined Mai honing her talents by sulking in her room, just throwing knives at the wall for fun, so I thought I'd run with it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Read and review!**

* * *

**Accusation:**

Azula tilted her head, observing her new roommate from the doorway. Lights out was ten minutes ago, a strict policy at the Academy, but Azula wasn't worried. Mai seemed to like the dark, and blew out the candle on the desk. Azula noted Mai's gaze lingering on the portrait she'd left of her family on the desk.

"Did you finish?" she asked, finally revealing herself as Mai got up from her chair.

"Oh, it's _you_," Mai sighed, climbing onto her bed.

Azula smirked. "Who did you expect? Now I said, did you finish?"

"Finish _what_?" Mai snapped. Azula heard her roll over to face the wall.

"Your work," she replied, slipping into her own bed.

"Why do _you_ care?"

"I was simply wondering how long you've been admiring my family portrait," Azula told her, unable to wring out _all_ of the satisfaction from her tone. She could practically hear Mai blush from across the room. "There's no need to be ashamed, of course. It is, after all, the Royal Family." Azula cut herself off. She'd learned early that it didn't ever help to brag outright.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mai grumbled into the wall.

"It's okay," Azula smirked. "Your secret's safe with me."

"Leave me alone. I don't know what you're talking about."

Azula stared up at the ceiling, heaving a sigh. Mai could deny it all she wanted, but Azula didn't think she'd been staring at the picture to admire her father. Her brother did seem to stand out.

Azula remembered the portrait of her family getting painted all too easily; it had been done only that summer. She remembered kneeling in front of her mother, watching as her father rested his hand on Zuko's shoulder. Azula had attempted to prepare herself for similar treatment from her mother, but remained shaken and unsure about how she'd imagine it would feel when Ursa rested a hand on her shoulder; the anticipation nearly killed her, wondering whether she would be repulsed by her mother's touch, or whether she would relish the attention, even if her mother bestowed it unwillingly. The worry was unnecessary. Ursa didn't touch her. The Fire Princess kept her hands neatly folded in her lap, out of reach of her daughter.

Azula rolled onto her side, squirming beneath her blanket. She couldn't sleep, and was tempted more than once to sneak into Ty Lee's room. But that wouldn't be practical, and she felt exhausted. Sleep still didn't come.

The bell rang at six in the morning, a harsh, clanging sound with the capability of waking the whole island. Already awake, Azula quickly slipped into her crimson school uniform. She combed through her hair, putting it up while Mai got dressed.

"See you at breakfast," Azula said, opening the door to the room and slamming it behind her before Mai had a chance to respond.

Azula fell into the ranks of other students, scanning the crowd of crimson for Ty Lee. She couldn't even see a dash of pink in the crowd, or a braid bobbing in the river of red. Hope sprouted for a moment when she saw Ty Lee's six clones…but none of them were the acrobat. Azula's expression hardened. Something didn't settle with her, and she turned around, heading away from the dining room and back towards Ty Lee's room.

"I thought you were going to breakfast." Azula didn't stop to cater to Mai's deadpan commentary.

"I'm looking for Ty Lee," she said, striding past the pale older girl.

Mai looked bored, but followed Azula down the hall. "That peppy, happy girl? Why?"

It was the first time Mai seemed to show any interest in Azula, but she didn't bother to contemplate why Ty Lee brought out emotion in the apathetic Mai.

"She didn't go to breakfast with her sisters."

"Why would she?" That made Azula pause. "She seems to hate them."

Azula's eyes narrowed. "How would _you_ know? You only met her once."

Mai continued looking bored. "Seven identical sisters are hard to overlook. _Everyone_ here noticed them."

Azula shook off Mai's response, continuing towards Ty Lee's room. She could hear raised voices coming from what should have been an empty hallway. Her pace picked up.

She took in the scene in half a second. Two girls had Ty Lee backed against a wall like a cornered animal, and there were unmistakably tears in her eyes; one girl, her slick black hair tied in a high ponytail, laughed and pulled at Ty's pink sash. "You think _this_ piece of garbage will make you stand out around here? You think you're _any _different from your sisters because of some stupid pink scarf?"

The other girl yanked at Ty's braid. "Look at her hair, Sky! You think this makes you look _pretty_?"

"I think you need a little haircut," Sky said, wielding a ball of fire just under the braid her friend held out. "You want to look different, now's your chance. How's this, Jin?"

Azula didn't wait to see how short Sky wanted to cut Ty's braid. She immediately jumped to action.

"Leave her alone." Mai coming to Ty Lee's aid was a surprise to more than just Sky and Jin. A dagger glinted in the light, but only Mai's eyes narrowed; it was as if she hadn't even moved, except suddenly she held a dagger in one hand.

"You call that firebending?" Azula's taunt drew Sky's attention away from Ty Lee. "_This_ is firebending." Raising only two fingers, Azula shot a firebolt towards Sky; barely able to dodge the blow, her perfect black hair was singed by the flame, leaving the ends ragged and uneven.

"Are you crazy?" Jin shouted. "You aren't supposed to firebend in the halls! You're going to burn down the whole building!"

Azula rolled her eyes, ignoring Sky's friend. Sky, whose hair was still smoking, glared at Azula, raising a fist to blast fire at the girl. Before she could take another step, Ty Lee regained her confidence.

"_That's_ for calling me ugly," the acrobat said, jabbing Sky's shoulder and back with her quick fingers.

Sky fell to the ground, gasping for air. Jin suddenly released a surprised gasp, and both Azula and Ty Lee glanced towards Sky's sidekick; Ty Lee was unable to withhold her smile as she examined Jin's predicament. Two of Mai's daggers pinned the girl's crimson sleeves to the wall.

Azula smirked, kneeling next to Sky. Holding up two fingers, a single flame shooting from her fingertips, she said, "Mess with her again, and it'll be more than just your hair getting burned."

"You can't just leave us here," Jin shouted as the trio turned to head to breakfast. Azula felt only pleasure at the helplessness in her tone. She'd smashed the arrogance right out of her.

"I hope I get my knives back," Mai said as they turned the corner, leaving Sky and Jin incapacitated in the hallway.

"Thanks you guys," Ty said, adjusting the sash around her waist. Her upbeat attitude was gone.

"Don't listen to those two," Azula told her.

"But they're right," Ty whispered, tears coming to her eyes. "I'm just like my sisters, and no braid, no sash is going to change that. I'm not even pretty."

Azula laughed. "Oh Ty Lee, don't be so pathetic. Of course you're pretty." She continued towards the dining room, as if handing out compliments were no big deal.

"You really think so?" Ty asked. The eagerness and innocence in her tone made Azula stop.

"Don't be so shallow," muttered Mai, whose gloom returned with twice the force now that she'd realized her daggers were probably not coming back.

"Don't pay attention to her," Azula said, grinning wickedly. "She's just jealous she's not as pretty as you." She leaned conspiratorially closer to Ty, speaking just loud enough that Mai could hear her. "She has a crush on Zuko."

Ty Lee giggled under Mai's cold gaze. "I do not. I don't even know him."

Azula smirked. They'd finally made it into the dining room, and slipped quietly into an empty table so no teachers would ask where they'd been.

"Deny the accusation all you want, Mai." _But I know that's the _real_ reason you're sitting with me at this table right now._

"Well I think you two would be cute together," said Ty Lee, who stood up to go fetch the group food as a thank you for saving her what was sure to have been a humiliating haircut.


	3. Restless

**Restless:**

"You couldn't sleep either?" asked Azula as the door to her room opened a crack, letting in a sliver of fiery orange light from the torches that illuminated the halls outside. Mai had fallen asleep hours ago, but Azula couldn't seem to find any rest.

Ty Lee slipped into the room, her lip quivering. She'd been downcast all day, her whole attitude dampened by the morning incident.

"You'll get in trouble if one of the teachers finds you here," Azula warned her. "Both of us will." She squinted at her friend, who kept her back against the wall. Any second she would start to cry.

"I'm sorry," Ty whispered in order to avoid the strain of holding back her tears.

Azula relented. "What's wrong?" She couldn't imagine what could get the perky pink acrobat so down. Generally all smiles, Ty Lee made pretty look easy and acrobatics look fun. She had a knack for making friends, and despite possessing one of the most terrifying talents Azula had ever encountered, she remained friendly and upbeat.

Ty Lee crumpled to her knees. "I've always struggled with the way I look, with having six identical sisters exactly like me, and it's just…those two girls…they got to me. I didn't feel pretty, I didn't feel unique…" She tugged at her braid. "Not until you talked to me. I've never had anyone compliment me before. I've never had a real friend before, until you. You're the first person who's bothered with the real me. But I still feel…" She couldn't finish, instead burying her face in her hands. Quiet sobs pricked Azula's ears; she recognized the muffled noises from nights she'd spent with her own head buried in her pillow. Of course it had been years since she'd cried herself to sleep, but the memories still haunted her. She couldn't tolerate weakness.

Azula hid her face in her pillow, repressing a sigh. Despite Ty Lee's pathetic display of emotion, it was almost endearing…even sweet. "You shouldn't let what they said get to you," she told the girl. "Those two were losers anyway."

Ty Lee looked up, rubbing her eyes. "I know, but it still hurts to hear it. You're lucky, Zula. You are the prettiest, most perfect girl in the world, and I'm…I'm just not."

Azula rolled over, facing the wall. That's right. She was supposed to be perfect, the pretty little 'princess.' Not even a princess – only the daughter of a prince. That didn't help matters, though. Her father still had expectations for her, and when she upheld them her mother scolded her. But being perfect was in her job description, no matter how hard it was on her. So why was she lying awake in bed at night fretting over her mother and father? They were both pulling her in such different directions…It made being perfect quite…difficult.

"Go back to bed, Ty Lee. You have nothing to worry about. You are pretty, even more than Sky or Jin. So stop worrying."

Ty Lee rose from the floor, her smile halfway back. "You really think so?"

"I said it, didn't I?" _About a million times today._ Making Ty Lee feel better about herself didn't put Azula in a good mood; she had her own problems to deal with, after all.

Ty Lee rose from the ground, shaking slightly, but smiling. "Thanks, Zula."

Azula pulled the blanket over her head, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to sleep. Even with Ty Lee gone, peace proved elusive.

* * *

**A/N: So a little bit about what inspired this (and also sort of the last story). I just imagined Ty Lee having issues when she was younger (possibly stemming from school/bullying) with how she looked because of her identical sisters, and being really insecure with her appearance, so that's where this came from. It's mainly inspired by Ty Lee's comment when fighting the Kyoshi Warriors (she said something along the lines of "You're _not_ prettier than us" or something like that to the Warriors, and it just made me wonder about her because she seemed really angry/bitter, which was unlike her, so I came up with this to explain it).**

**Also, I was gonna have a sort of Parent Trap/The Beach episode kind of deal where Azula and Ty Lee bonded over wrecking Sky and Jin's room, but decided against it (I'll own up to it...I got lazy and didn't want to write it). But that was an option...who knows, maybe I'll add that later...**

**Anyway, please read and review!**


	4. Snowflake

**Snowflake:**

"The defeat of the Southern Water Tribe was an extensive operation. As you all know, it was only recently that the waterbenders were entirely wiped out."

Azula tried not to yawn, but yes, as the teacher pointed out, she already knew that. This was meant to be a tactics course, not another history lesson. She still had trouble sleeping, and her patience with her teachers was wearing thin. She understood perfectly that many of the courses taught at the Academy built off one another, but it didn't change the way she felt.

"A series of small raids were made against the Southern Tribe," her only male teacher continued. It irked Azula that the school could provide a female firebending master, but could not locate a single high-ranking veteran to teach a course in strategy. The old man almost seemed amused by the young girls; Azula could see in his eyes that he didn't believe they had any business learning the arts of war. She kept her tongue in check, however. There was no need to pick a fight with him…not yet at least; she hoped he would provide an opportunity for her to show him just how well she'd been paying attention, though, because she hated that he thought so little of her. She wanted to put him in his place.

"These raids served a single purpose – to locate and capture any hostile waterbenders." The man stroked his gray beard and turned his back to the class, pointing to the map on the board of the Southern Tribe. "When the attacks first began, the commanding officer made a single miscalculation. What was meant to be a smooth operation ended up costing him his career. He forgot to take into account the most basic detail – the snow."

Azula rubbed her eyes, struggling to listen to the man drone on. He refused to interact with his class, thinking them incapable of understanding military strategy. He was an old soldier, but surely he knew that women served in the Fire Nation armies. He didn't seem keen on allowing such a trend to continue.

"While he amassed his fleet of ships, the black soot was carried through the wind, blackening the white snow as if the land had been scorched, and signaling the tribe of impending ambush. With the plan of attack given away, the waterbenders were able to put together a defense that withstood for nearly eighty years. If the original ambush had gone ahead as planned, the Southern Tribe would have been wiped out in mere minutes, and all of the benders would have been quickly rounded up. Instead, the Fire Nation was forced to hammer away at their icy walls for decades because of a bit of black snow. Because of the disastrous initial battle, attacks on the Northern Tribe had to be halted in order to direct all our nation's firepower on the weaker Southern Tribe.

"Fortunately the new commander in charge of the operation was able to send in small raiding parties to capture the waterbenders of the tribe without wasting too many resources on fighting the non-benders, who posed little threat to his armies. While fighting with smaller raiding parties was more time consuming, it gave the Fire Nation more people and supplies to be spent elsewhere in other fights."

The voice buzzed in Azula's ears, and grated on her severely. She already knew the history of the waterbenders; the Northern Tribe was older and more civilized, in her opinion. They, at least, had a monarchy. The Southern Tribe was newer, and had little to guide them. It was embarrassing that it took so many years to destroy the peasants of that nation. Even if the original attack had been given away, it still should not have been a defeat. The Southern Tribe consisted of outcasts and peasants that didn't want to follow ancient customs, but were too cowardly to challenge them. They were runaways and traitors.

"The questions we will be discussing include what details the original commander should have taken into account in order to bring about a more decisive victory, and what alternative strategies could have been used. Remember, of course, that the ultimate goal of the operation was to only round up the waterbenders of the tribe without wasting any resources."

Azula rolled her eyes. She didn't need the man to baby her. "It's simple, isn't it?" She relished the look of surprise on the veteran general's face. "No invasion force, no matter how small, would have the capability of slipping into the Southern Tribe without either being seen, or being at a disadvantage. The soot from any substantial raiding party would always give the ships away…"

"Not if they chose to attack at night, when no one would see the snow," a girl in the back of the class chimed in.

Azula groaned. Statements from girls like her were the reason the teacher didn't take her class seriously.

Having previously directed her speech at her teacher, Azula gave a swift, cold glance backwards to the girl that had interrupted her. "_If_ you will permit me to finish, I can explain why that would be stupid." Her eyes glinted and she whipped her head back to the front of the room. "A night ambush, while capable of masking the soot, still renders the navy vulnerable. Though the navy could get soldiers into the city, it would do little good once the waterbenders woke up enough to fight back. Their bending outmatches any firebender when the moon is up. That is where they draw their power. Even if the Fire Nation soldiers weren't tired from sailing the ships all through the day to make it to the Southern Tribe by nightfall, they would still get beaten by the waterbenders, who would have the power of the moon to give them strength. We may be stronger than the other nations, but even we can't fight the spirits."

The corner of her lip pulled into a smirk, and she glanced over her shoulder at the girl who had dared to suggest such an idiotic plan. The girl glared hostilely at her.

"Well, Azula," her teacher said, stroking his beard, "what is your suggestion? How should the commander have proceeded?"

"He should have taken the Southern Tribe by force, not with a series of weak jabs. Only an armada of massive proportions would have the strength to crush the tribe in a single blow."

"Perhaps you didn't understand the assignment," the teacher said in a stern voice. "It was to win using as _few_ resources as possible. Forming an army you seem to be imagining would drain soldiers from posts all over the world."

Azula refrained from groaning at the man's stupidity. "The last eighty years of fighting the Southern Tribe hasn't been a waste in your mind then?" A few people giggled, and Azula recognized Ty Lee's laugh. "I suppose you don't recall that the raids on the Northern and Southern Tribe were some of the first real attacks after the annihilation of the Air Nomads. Besides the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom, there was nowhere for Fire Nation soldiers to be. With a single decisive attack against the Southern Tribe, we could have ended the waterbenders as quickly as my great-grandfather ended the Air Nomads. Instead, we've been wasting time trickling in supplies to minor raiding parties. Resources that _could_ be used elsewhere, now that the Fire Nation has forged its way into the Earth Kingdom." Azula paused for a moment to make sure everyone understood her. "If we had focused all of our attention on the Southern Tribe, the war with the waterbenders would have ended long ago, leaving us ample time and equipment to bolster our armies again before taking on the Earth Kingdom."

There was silence as the teacher contemplated Azula's plan. She felt rather good about her idea. It would have saved time and energy that would have been better spent elsewhere. Maybe she should have been born as a general instead of one of the spares to the throne. At least _she_ wouldn't have been outsmarted by some snow.

* * *

**A/N: A short in which Azula predicts the eventual invasion of the Northern Tribe. Sorry this took so long to post, but I was having difficulty figuring out a storyline for 'Snowflake' when this is a story about the Fire Nation, so it basically turned into a salute to Azula's cold, calculating, and heartless strategies to win (signified in the show by her ready proposal to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground). Read and review please! I apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes...I wrote this early in the morning and I'm super jet-lagged.**


	5. Haze

******A/N: This is basically my version of 'Zuko Alone' except for Azula. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Haze:**

School bored her, and the days continued to melt together. The only consolation came when she spent time with Ty Lee and Mai, the only friends she seemed capable of making. Everyone else talked of her behind her back, all of them jealous, spreading spiteful rumors. Girls were cruel, but Azula had her fair share of revenge. For every rumor, she could only laugh. If people were talking about her, that only meant good things. If they were saying mean things, it meant they feared her. And for each rumor, she found the girl who started it, and gave them a _real_ reason to fear her, and a new rumor to start.

She leaned nonchalantly against the wall in one of the corridors, waiting for one girl she didn't particularly like. A perk of being her meant she had an inexhaustible supply of patience, but after a few hours she started to drift, a haze of memories swirling around in her head.

The waiting reminded her of another time in her life, when at the age of three, she learned she was a firebender. Azula had sat for hours, waiting for Zuko to finish his training with their father. They'd been at it all day, and it was late at night now. Ursa had come out to sit with her, and Azula waited in her lap as her mother stroked her short black hair. One of Azula's few good memories with her mother, just the two of them, sitting outside, waiting for Zuko. The stars above shone brightly, and a light summery breeze stirred the leaves of trees in the garden.

"You have beautiful hair Azula," Ursa said with a smile. "My gorgeous baby girl."

Azula nestled further down in her mother's lap. She'd been wearing her soft crimson robes, and this late at night they felt like a blanket. Ursa stroked a stray hair from out of Azula's eye, when suddenly the large training room doors burst open and Zuko stormed out, anger clear in his dark features.

"Why doesn't anything ever work for me?" he shouted, slamming his fists through the air.

Azula jumped up from Ursa's lap, and her mother went to Ozai's side. Azula's father stood leaning shirtless against the doorframe watching his son storm back and forth shouting at himself. He'd always been moody, and the dark shadows cast black scars across his angst-filled features.

"Zuzu," Azula said, tugging on his shirt. She'd been too young to pronounce his name right, and the nickname had stuck ever since. "Teach me to firebend." She smiled and jumped readily into the stance she'd seen her father use so many times when he would bend.

"Go _away_ Azula," Zuko said, shoving her aside. "I'm not going to show you anything."

Azula stared at her brother, crestfallen. She'd sat out for hours waiting for him. She'd been so excited, too. He'd promised to show her something today. She felt tears spring to her eyes.

"Zuko, you've upset your sister," Ursa said, approaching him, the whispers between her and Ozai disappearing. "Why don't you show her something? It might make you feel better." Ursa smiled, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Azula wiped her eyes, looking hopefully at Zuzu. He relented. "Fine," he muttered, the lines in his face disappearing. He even smiled at her a little.

"First, you need to take a deep breath," he said, and Azula followed his example, breathing slowly and calmly. "Because firebending comes from the breath." He looked up and got an approving nod from Ozai, whose golden eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Now, the movement of this one is pretty easy," Zuko told her. "It's just like punching through the air. Can you show me a punch?" He smiled at her as she threw her best punch with added sound effects, a small grunt.

"Like that?" she asked him.

He nodded in approval. "Now just put it all together, the stance, the breath, and the punch, but make sure you feel the energy traveling with you through your body. Like this." Zuko punched through the air, a small blast of fire exploding from his fist.

Azula pursed her lips, furrowing her brow in concentration. With a little pout, she punched through the air…and fire burst forward, soaring like a comet all the way into the garden.

"I did it!" she exulted, turning around expecting her parents and Zuzu to be smiling. Instead they all looked dumbfounded. Ozai had unlatched himself from the doorframe, his eyes wide. Ursa just pursed her lips.

"But…but you're _three_," Zuko said, his confusion spattered all about his features. "That took me weeks!"

"You must be a wonderful teacher, Zuko," Ursa said, immediately going to his side, beaming at him. "That was amazing. You did such a good job of showing your little sister how to do it."

Azula pouted. No one had said anything to _her_ yet.

"Come here, Azula," Ozai said, grabbing her wrist and leading her towards the training room. She looked at him, puzzled.

"Ozai, be reasonable," Ursa told him. "It's late, she needs to go to bed. You can train in the morning."

"I'm going to train with Zuzu?" she asked excitedly.

Ozai's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps." He stared at Zuko for a moment, and then back to Azula. "I'm going to speak to my father."

And that's how Azula learned she was a firebending prodigy.

But everything changed after that. Her father started treating her differently, and she never got to play with Zuzu anymore, at least not much. They didn't even train together. The hours she spent practicing with her father hardened her, and by the time she was four she'd surpassed Zuko in skill. Her father obviously favored her, and the attention he gave her started going to her head. Maybe he was right – maybe she really _was_ better than her brother.

Other things changed, too. Ozai became more distant from the rest of his family, and Ursa made up for the loss of him by overcompensating with Zuko. Everything was always about Zuko. Azula started feeling left out, and she began confiding in her father. He always knew what to say to make her feel special, wanted, useful. She believed him without question.

Now, years of being told what she deserved from other people finally paid off. Azula crossed her arms, lightly tripping the unsuspecting girl who came walking around the dark corner. _Too easy_.

"I heard," she said, "that you don't like my hair." She circled the girl, who looked dazed and confused by the sudden assault. "What did you call it? The _ugliest_ haircut you've ever seen, if I recall correctly. I'm sure you got a few laughs. Now it's my turn. I'm sure people will get a kick out of _this_," she said, raising two fingers as a single flame flickered from the tips of her nails.

The girl looked terrified as Azula snatched a fistful of hair and sliced through it with the fire emanating from her fingertips like it was a blade rather than a flame.

"Now _that's_ ugly," Azula said, admiring her work at cutting the hair of the young girl. It was some kid in her class who thought it would be funny to tease the Fire Nation Royal now that she had no status over them (according to the teachers, at least). Azula, however, didn't take kindly to criticism. And her hair was a subject she didn't allow anyone to touch.

"But it suits you," she mused, a vicious light in her eye. "And it will give everyone something to talk about."

She snickered at the girl, who stared at her, horror and anger mixing as she picked up the black strands of fallen, ragged hair. Azula sauntered down the corridor back to her room, pleased with herself. No one got away with criticizing her except herself. And her father, but he was always right. He helped her fix the problems, too.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. I've been out of the country for awhile and have been sick, so I just put off writing this. So to explain the idea behind this, I kind of wanted to explore the idea that Azula and Zuko actually did get along as siblings at one point, and Zuko was a really good big brother to her. The idea that he would unlock her bending powers came because he seemed to teach people in the actual shows a lot (Lee with the swords and Aang fire bending) so I thought, why not Azula, too?**

**As pertains to Azula, I'm exploring the idea that when she was younger, she was actually just plain mean, and as the stories progress she slowly begins to manipulate people, rather than outright attack them, like she did to this one classmate of hers. She blatantly pushes Ty Lee to the ground in 'Zuko Alone' so I figured she was probably a bit of a bully to others, too. And about her hair...I figure she's sensitive about it cuz her mom always complimented it before they grew apart (and her delusion in the series finale suggests that she did), so I figured I'd go for it.**

**Anyway, hope you liked it! Read and review please!**


End file.
